In today's competitive world, sellers of goods and services seek to take advantage of many marketing opportunities to increase their sales, advance their market share, and achieve greater profitability. These results should be achieved without cutting prices and without appearing to be a “discounter” or seller of distressed products. Thus, over the past fifty years, new types of incentives have appeared in the form of reward programs or rewards programs. These programs offer incentives to buyers to purchase the products or services offered, without lowering prices and without discounting the merchandise.
Examples of such programs are manifest. Some credit card companies offer cash back, the sum rebated depending on the user's purchases over a period of time. Other credit card companies offer alternative rewards in the form of miles, points, credits, or other currency units, based on the credit card holder's use of the card. Hotel chains offer points, often for free lodging or other incentive, based on the user's purchases. Airlines offer frequent flyer miles based on the trips purchased and flown by the traveler. One unique aspect of some of these programs is that the incentive or benefit generally accrues to the traveler, rather than to the person or company purchasing the product or service, e.g., the user's employer. The user thus has an incentive to purchase products or services from selected providers because of the benefits provided in exchange for the accrued frequent flyer miles, credit card points, or other reward program currency units.
One provider typically cannot meet all of the user's needs or desires in a given category of goods or services. Therefore a typical user may participate in several such plans, such as two or more airlines that fly to different locations, two or more major credit cards that are accepted in different establishments, two hotel chains with different locations, and so forth. It is difficult to keep track of one's points, miles or other “earnings” under a plurality of such plans. Adding to the complexity is that merchants and providers may have “partners,” who honor each other's rewards. Thus, an airline may accept credit card points or hotel credits, while hotels may accept credit card points, and so forth.
A user wishing to redeem accumulated points, miles or credits must search carefully and diligently for opportunities to redeem the points, even if he or she goes only to the merchant or provider of the goods or services. The user will be diligent because these credits are literally equivalent to his or her cash. The user also has to be diligent because there are many rules that apply to these redemptions that further complicate actually determining the availability and prices. The user wishes to make the best possible use of the points and to get the lowest price for the purchase he or she wishes to make. Prices at the merchants, however, are usually quoted only in cash, with searching required to find the equivalent price in frequent flier miles, credit card points, and the like.
This information may also take the form of prices for other goods and services in these alternate currencies. While such information is available, is it not conveniently available without a great many searches, often to several vendors if one is determined to get reasonable value for the points of miles. What is needed is a way to gather information from many merchants and providers on the prices they offer and the values they provide for these alternate currencies.